{"id":24463,"date":"2019-04-29T20:45:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T20:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/29\/va-congressman-i-think-we-are-about-to-enter-a-constitutional-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:59:58","slug":"va-congressman-i-think-we-are-about-to-enter-a-constitutional-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2019\/04\/29\/va-congressman-i-think-we-are-about-to-enter-a-constitutional-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Va. congressman: \u2018I think we are about to enter a constitutional crisis\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Political experts and members of Congress have long speculated whether findings in the special counsel report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election or potential obstruction of justice concerning that report could trigger a constitutional crisis in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But according to Virginia Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly, the crisis may be triggered by a far more mundane problem with the Trump administration: the refusal to comply with subpoenas and document requests from the oversight committees in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we are about to enter a constitutional crisis. When the president of the United States says, \u2018I\u2019m not going to comply with any subpoena request of the legislative branch,\u2019 you are in a constitutional crisis,\u201d said Connolly April 25 at a Juniper Networks town hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a problem because Congress is a separate but coequal branch of government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both legislation and sections of the Constitution, Congress is required to perform oversight of executive branch programs and operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connolly, who is chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, said that his subcommittee and the larger Committee on Oversight and Reform has consistently struggled with getting the necessary officials to testify and respond to subpoenas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congressional subpoenas have the authority to compel a witness or documents to appear before the committee, and must meet three requirements to be legally sufficient: the committee investigation must be authorized by its chamber, the subpoena must serve a legislative purpose and the inquiry must be pertinent to a subject matter authorized for investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House sued earlier this week to prevent the Oversight and Reform Committee from subpoenaing his financial records, but according to Connolly, the committees also have legal recourse for executive officials who refuse to comply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will do whatever it takes to compel compliance. We will put them in jail, we will fine them, we will hold them in contempt,\u201d said Connolly, though Congress hasn\u2019t used its jail power since the 1800s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is apparently a little room in the Capitol where somebody can be held. It looks like we\u2019re going to need a bigger room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More specifically, Connolly said that his committee has struggled to get the testimony and documents it needs to provide oversight of the administration\u2019s proposal to break up the Office of Personnel Management <\/a>and split its responsibilities across other federal agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting OPM Director Margaret Weichert was supposed to come before the committee May 1, but the agency backed out and also opted to delay the requests for documents that accompanied her planned testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not so sure that\u2019s a good idea.<\/a> We\u2019re not so sure they have the legal authority to do that. They\u2019ve refused to even come before us. They\u2019ve refused all document requests. Now, what am I supposed to do? I\u2019m not trying to do anything to anybody other than get at, \u2018what is your thinking here, what is it you\u2019re really proposing and why?\u2019\u201d said Connolly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fact that they have not produced a single piece of paper justifying any of this reorganization makes me suspicious. Like, maybe you haven\u2019t got one? Maybe someone decided, \u2018let\u2019s get rid of this agency, it\u2019s a clunker, we don\u2019t like it, and we can claim that we\u2019ve got rid of bureaucrats and a whole agency.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But an OPM spokesperson told Federal Times that the agency immediately suggested new dates when it was determined that May 1 would not work, and plans to both have Weichert testify May 21 and make the requested documents available leading up to her testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the agency said that it had reached out to Connolly\u2019s office six times to discuss the reorganization, which ultimately resulted in one conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House this week began the process of removing OPM responsibilities from the agency, as Trump signed an executive order <\/a>April 24 transferring the background investigation responsibility from OPM\u2019s National Background Investigation Bureau to the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe that\u2019s a good idea, I don\u2019t know. DoD already has a backlog problem. You want to add to it. Are you going to add resources to it so that we can eat into the backlog and expedite it?\u201d said Connolly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe by moving to DoD you\u2019re going to speed it up and make it more efficient, and better, and more thorough. In which case, you\u2019ve got my support. But if that isn\u2019t the case, and, in fact, you don\u2019t have any plan at all, and you can\u2019t answer the question, \u2018Does this not just add to the problem we\u2019ve already got?\u2019 then I don\u2019t support it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article has been updated to include comments from OPM.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Representative Gerry E. Connolly, D-Va., said he sees a lack of responsiveness from the Trump administration. 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